Perhaps the Miller's Tale is more appropriate, but early tomorrow morning I shall be going on pilgrimage for a week with the family - not to Canterbury but to Northumberland. It's been over a year since I was last up, so it's long overdue.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Answers

Anticipated Pilgrimage

What's everyone else up to this weekend?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

I'm green. Still.. not long to wait for me... 4 weeks 'till I can drive again...

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

This w/end will be my first golf for a month so I'll enter straight into the medal and get another .1 back on the old bandicap.

Saturday pm will be sulking and fretting about events in Derbyshire.

I'll also be glued to the Masters

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Which part of the county, Pete?

I'll be mostly entertaining friends from Ashington / Morpeth at our place. That and chopping wood for the fire - still a bit of nip at night up here.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

We'll be based at a place called Beacon Hill, near Longhorsely, which is nearish Morpeth. It's a small complex of cottages with fantastic views to Simonside and the Cheviots. We'll be travelling around a bit though.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Nice area with plenty to see. The wife used to live at Longframlington just up the road from there.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Pete - I'm about 12-15 miles north of Longhorsley. You can't miss out on the opportunity to call in - even kids welcome. As I WAH most days, it doesn't have to be evening. Next Thursday's out tho as I'm in Lahndaan.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Cheers Screach, you don't know what you've let yourself into ;-)

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Have a great time, Pete!

Most of my weekend will depend on how my job interview goes this afternoon, though will most likely be spent blasting myself for answers I could have given differently and things I should/shouldn't have said/done. I hate interviews. It would be so much easier if I could just go in, fall to my knees, and beg for the job. Okay, maybe not. ;-)

Beyond that, tomorrow night is the start of the WUSA (women's footy league) season, so I'll be at RFK working at the match.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Eeek. Interviews! Good luck, Ciara. Presumably when they ask whether you've got any questions, you'll make sure there's unrestricted internet access ;-)

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

(Another!) Sports weekend. Pride Park with 'The Vicars' tomorrow. FAC Semi's on Sunday, and in between all the footy it's serious viewing of The Masters Golf.

I really must get to visit Augusta before I depart 'this mortal coil' - what a beautiful golf course.

Actually, I played at Bamburgh GC for the first time yesterday - my first round for a year and I actually played quite well! The course is not in great condition, but it has some fantastic golf holes. Bit chilly, but hazy sunshine and just spectacular 360 degree views from some of the holes - Holy Island, The Farne Isles, Bamburgh Castle, south as a far as Dunstanburgh Castle, and the Cheviots. Lovely afternoon.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Unrestricted internet access, and half-days during the World Cup. ;-)

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Good luck Ciara!!

Clarky - devvent fret, we'll let ye get another round in the morra - The Station, isn't it??

As for the w/e - yes, Pride Park for me on Sat'da as a travelling vicar and San Marino GP on Sunda, tho sadly TV only :-( And nee smart @r$e remarks about my sense of dress please.

Pete - call me on 07967 275792 when you're up here. Might even drag True out for a pint or two as well.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Screach, we'll be in The Brunswick which is about 5 mins from the Station. Might see you.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Have a great few days Pete - I know you and the family will love it. Looking forward to a post trip report! (:o)

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

The family won't be allowed not to love it, Galaxy, it's just not an option ;-) It's actually the same place I took them to about 18 months ago, and we had a great time then. Now that they're just that little bit older, there are even more things we can do. The idea is before too long they'll be pestering me constantly to go up there again.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Clever ploy! (:o) I find that quoting house prices works quite well with Pete! (:o)

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

I was actually surprised with how expensive the houses can be, especially in premiums spots accesible to Newcastle, like Corbridge.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Aye, but Corbridge gets packed with tourists and it's a nightmare to park yer car. Pretty but I wouldn't want to live there

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

You're further up river, aren't you Bobby?

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Enjoy it Pete.

I had a very enjoyable Easter week up there. It got off to a great start with a trip to St James Park on Good Friday. Started off with a visit to the Strawberry where there was a very hospitable KLIK, clique something like that. Very nice to see the real people instead of the Cyber ones. The game was great (at least the second half was) Back to the strawberry for more BBS hospitality.

Saturday the inlaws (Southerners from Durham) insisted on a trip to Whitburn..give it a miss Even the lampposts are painted red and white.

Saturday/Sunday night I tried to emulate Galaxy with a couple of nights in the Gosforth Park Hotel...Unlike her nobody of any note showed while we were there.

Sunday Morning down to the Quayside market where that wonderful new bridge winked for us and the Swing bridge swung.

Back to the quayside on Sunday night where other things were swinging.

A trip to Tynemouth / Whitley bay to visit the Aquarium. Very nice and no bloody awful lamposts

North to Alnmouth for a night after walking the deserted beaches of Longhoughton / Howick woods (my own childhood playground)

Car soiled by Seagulls while parked on Seahouses harbour, Afternoon tea at the copper kettle in Bamburgh. Sandcastle for the bairn on Beadnel beach (one of the nicest)

Fish supper in Alnwick on the way back South.

The weather was great apart from a slight sea fret (had to be the days I went to the coast)

Can't wait to go back and the house price idea was certainly being considered by her who must be obeyed...She was also pretty impressed with the Bigg Market.

All in all a very good week, I hope your time is just as enjoyable.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

"Car soiled by Seagulls while parked on Seahouses harbour....."

I think this must be an essentially North-East phenomena - one that seriously afflicts wor area. The things that dump on my car in wor drive must at the very least be albatrosses!

I've even surveyed the evening sky for low-flying mutant emus before risking troweling off the previous night's 'drop'.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

There was a car commercial here a couple of years ago that featured pigeons plotting attacks, ala WWII bombers, on the brand new cars.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Clarky, I don't think emus can fly !! but agree that Bamburgh is a smashing GC, seem to remember you play one par three hole completely blind with a sunken green beyond the white pole ....

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2002

Bob - sounds as though you have a smashing weekend! Gosforth Park isn`t bad for a `chain` hotel is it? Pity the lads didn`t oblige by putting in an appearance. (:o)

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2002

I took the kids to Alnwick Castle about three weeks ago, it was shut cos they were filming the next Harry Potter movie. Typical after enduring 3/4 hour of "Are we ther yet" and I'd found an excellent parking spot next to it. So if your planning a visit to Alnwick Castle, dress as a wizard.

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2002

Well, we're back. Unfortunately. A week is just not long enough. I get the feeling that a lifetime wouldn't be long enough either.

Started off from Ealing, West London at 8:30 and arrived in a fantastically sunny Longhorsley in time for kick off (via radio) at 3:00pm. And that included stopping for lunch and almost two hours buying denuding Kingston Park Tesco's of all their 'Finest' range of ready made meals (well, anything to avoid cooking and encourage Christina, my wife, that coming up North is wothwhile ;-)) My contribution to the shopping was a nice bottle of Islay Malt which has subsequently been hammered due to too many sentimental evening sunsets and nights in front of a real coal fire.
When we arrived, my mood took a slight dip for an hour, listening to us going two nil down, but we all now know the outcome, and it was a great way to start the week.

I won't bore you with all the details, not least because I don't have the gift of some people on here to spin a tale. The cottage we stayed in is in an idyliic hilltop setting with uninterrupted views East, South and West. You can even see the sea on a clear day, of which there were many. Visited Beamish, Lindisfarne, Beach at Bamburgh, Hadrian's Wall and Corbridge, Morpeth, Wallington, Newcastle (of course) whilst still avoiding too much driving on behalf of our kids's sanity. But as mentioned on another thread, lunch at Wheldon Bridge in glorious sunshine took the biscuit (or tray load of sandwiches anyway). Thanks again to Screacher and Jonno for proving why the North East is such a special place to come - we all really enjoyed your company and were completely flattered with the effort you both made (despite the fact that with weather like that you presumably don't need much encouragement to get out)

Yesterday's win, just after we got back, rounded things off nicely. Next visit will have to be a long weekend in Newcastle with just Chrissie, in Autumn (to be booked as soon as the fixture list is published)

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2002

Very nice to meet you Peter and I'm sorry you've felt the need to go back to the heathen South.

I trust Izzie and Sophie enjoyed themselves. There can be nowhere finer to bring children up and if you get them here soon they might even develop the accent although Christina might not be too enamoured of this prospect! I must commend you on the excellent upbringing they have had so far. To insist that their Toon shirts be bought only from the club shop at the ground shows that your input into their education is paying dividends. :-)

Lots of love to the family. You'll have to do some househunting next time the two of you are here on your own.... :-)

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2002

Great to meet up with you and the three Millerettes. Have to say, that was one of the better lunchtimes I've spent in a while. I'll have to do it more often. Sure beats a tin of soup and a stale slice of bread you tend to get at Chez Screach.

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2002